Tutorial: Upcycled Necklaces

A few weeks ago I was out thrifting and I came across a whole pile of necklaces that were fifty cents each. I think I bought a dozen of them. At least. And these two white plastic “pearl” necklaces were too long to just wear, and not long enough to loop twice. Which I of course didn’t realize until I got them home. So a little fixing was in order. My favorite part about it is that if I get sick of it and want to use the parts in other projects it is easy to take apart and I could use the necklaces again. Here’s what I did:

Gather some supplies. I pulled out my ribbon scrap box and pulled out a bunch of scraps in all colors of pink, some white, and a little bit of pale pink lace. I also had a few parts from silk flowers that were in my same color scheme. (Pulling apart a flower is pretty easy, just pop off the little plastic part that holds the center on at the back, then you can use the individual layers for whatever you’d like.) I also had a big pink gemstone floating around in my sewing box, and it got added to the pile. I also needed a little scrap of felt for the flower pin and an alligator clip.

Start by folding your necklaces in half and then tying a piece of ribbon through the loops. This adds some interest to an otherwise boring string of white palstic beads, and it also gave me the length I needed without having to cut my necklaces apart. Cut a circle of pink felt, and make two slits in the middle. Then thread your clip through and use a dab of hot glue to hold the two together. Next stack up all your flower bits until you like them and hot glue them together as well.

Next lay out your ribbon tails s you can check length and composition. I ended up using the bright pink ribbon as a backer or the lace so that it shows up better.

Working in layers, glue your ribbons all together. Then glue your stack to the back of your flower and cover the ends with your felt circle and alligator clip.

Then it’s as easy as clipping the flower over the knot on the side of your necklace and tada! You are done. Because I had so many ribbon scraps this necklace cost me exactly $1. And I can still take it apart to use the pieces again. And because the flower clip is removeable you can use it on another necklace or a bag or if you are feeling totally awesome, put it in your hair.

I love how with very little effort I can dress up my standard T-shirt. We took this picture at our not quite midnight but still really late for a 2 year old summer solstice picnic. Nothing like eating pizza at the park and watching the sun go down on the longest night of the year. It was awesome. But now this outfit looks awesomer because I have pink hair. Yay!